Labour proposes independent commission to recommend ministerial, MPs’ salaries

Updated and corrrected at 1:05pm, Wednesday 2 February.

Labour deputy leader for parliamentary affairs Angelo Farrugia this evening presented a proposal to the House Business Committee for a permanent commission that would include the Ombudsman, the Auditor General and the Chief Electoral Commissioner, to recommend salaries and honoraria for political office holders and MPs. The proposals would have to be made public.

Deputy prime minister Tonio Borg however said that it should not be a commission to decide salaries for governmental office holders such as ministers. “I don’t think it should be a commission to decide government salaries for ministers,” Borg said.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Borg said there was no agreement on the appointment of a commission as proposed by Labour and said that the government side's initial reaction to the proposal was a negative one.

In its position, Labour said it did not agree with the non-transparent way ministers had their salaries topped up with a €26,000 ‘honorarium’ for their work as MPs. “We don’t think the Cabinet should have a double salary, but that there should be a unique remuneration of adequate level,” Farrugia said.

Labour said it wants a permanent, independent commission to recommend what remuneration the President, the Prime Minister, ministers, the Speaker of the House and the Opposition leader as well as other political office holders, should be paid.

Farrugia also said that MPs should be allowed to either choose between the MPs’ package they started with at the start of this legislature (which includes paid postage and communications), or the one proposed by government recently. MPs would however forfeit the free Air Malta flights they are entitled to in any case.

Tonio Borg surmised as to the possibility of an entity that could propose its recommendations on the honoraria for MPs to parliament. “It’s right to discuss whether a committee should decide what MPs are paid, but not as to what ministers are paid, because that is not parliament’s remit.”

Borg also raised questions on how the committee would be formed, its position at law and whether it would also be scrutinised by parliament.

Opposition whip Joe Mizzi said the Labour parliamentary group would not compromise on its position to have a commission that decides what remuneration political office holders in government received. “We want the people to have trust in the highest offices of the country,” Mizzi said. “The people cannot have trust in us MPs with what happened. That’s why we need a mechanism that decides on salaries and honoraria.”

Speaker of the House Michael Frendo resolved to have both sides consider the positions put forward, and reconvene on another date.